Cow moose illegally shot and killed in Southwest Idaho poaching incident
A poacher shot and killed a cow moose in Southwest Idaho, a region with a low moose population and no hunting season for the species, according to a news release from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
Officials said the female moose was found dead on Oct. 15 in Hunt Unit 32A near No Business Mountain, a peak in Adams County that’s west of Lake Cascade. The animal was near Forest Road 245 and Middle Fork Weiser River Road.
Fish and Game conservation officers said they believe the moose was killed between Oct. 10 and 12, the opening weekend of general deer season.
The hunt unit also had two controlled open hunts for antlerless elk. Officials noted that inexperienced hunters have mistakenly shot moose after mistaking them for elk. Two hunters in Southwest Idaho illegally killed moose in 2020 after mistaking the animals for elk. Both reported the errors to Fish and Game immediately.
“To put it simply, hunters are always responsible for knowing their target, and this isn’t a mistake they should be making,” McCall District Conservation Officer Dustin Masin said in the news release. “However, in the event that a mistake is made, doing the right thing and self-reporting will save you a lot of trouble in the long run.”
Idaho has far fewer moose than it does elk or deer, and their populations have declined in the state and across the U.S. in recent years. Tags for moose are only available in certain Idaho hunting units, and a hunter can only harvest one antlered and one antlerless moose in Idaho in their lifetime, per Fish and Game rules.
Killing a moose without a tag is a felony and can result in more than $1,000 in fines and possible lifetime loss of hunting privileges, Masin said. The conservation officer added that “other options exist for people who come forward and handle the mistake correctly.”
The poaching incident is the latest in illegal moose killings this year. A cow moose and calf were killed near Twin Falls in July, and Fish and Game is investigating the recent killing of several moose on PotlatchDeltic timberlands in North Idaho.
Anyone with information in the case is asked to contact Fish and Game Senior Conservation Officer Cameron Sena at 208-576-9067 or the Citizens Against Poaching Hotline at 800-632-5999, or report it on Fish and Game’s online enforcement tip line. Tips can be made anonymously, and tips that lead to an arrest may be eligible for financial rewards.
